(Photo by Ross Land/Getty Images)
The first clash of 2009 for the All Blacks, with the Dave Gallaher Cup on the line, begins in Dunedin, a ground where New Zealand and France have never before met.
Some think of the match as a retribution style clash, with the two nations having not met each other since that fateful day in October 2007. Les Bleus broke a nation’s heart and committed one of rugby’s great upsets, defeating the overwhelming favourites of the tournament, the All Blacks.
Numerous post mortems have occurred since that dark day. Ironically, one of the factors many believed to have conspired to bring the home team down was that All Black coach Graham Henry had developed so much depth with over 30 world class players to choose from that it became impossible to select only fifteen players to put on the park.
How he must wish to have such dilemmas less than two years later.
We now see an All Black team named, with bare 350 test caps, and earning surprisingly widespread condemnation as one of the weakest New Zealand test sides named in the professional era.
This opinion that this is a French team and that there is so much passion between the two marquee rugby nations has dominated the forums so heavily; the idea has almost gone unnoticed.
But as for revenge? It is not a word that is relevant to this All Black team.
This time last year, the All Blacks had to win back the hearts of the adoring public based on their World Cup result, and they had to do so with many of their players moving on.
A Tri Nations win for the record fourth straight year, a fifth straight Bledisloe Cup, a Grand Slam, and thirteen test match victories later, and for all and sundry; the demons were laid to rest.
After all that is said and done, only four players in this All Blacks match squad lined up for the nightmare against France in Cardiff, so to speak of redemption is a moot point.
Is this first All Black team of 2009 weak?
Well, no team in the world could do without the talents of Richie McCaw, Dan Carter, Ali Williams, Rodney So’oialo, Sitiveni Sivivatu, Conrad Smith, Jerome Kaino, Richard Kahui and Brendan Leonard, and not be weaker for it. Seven of the starting XV in the All Blacks last test match (against England) are unavailable for this match.
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